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10 KEY STEPS YOU MUST TAKE TO SUCCEED IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS

The truth is most bands that have approached me for shows do not have what it takes musically. Sadly out of many bands that have had some talent, many of them have wasted opportunities with a can’t be arsed attitude or a stance something along the lines of “you’re the promoter – you promoter – we just write and play songs”. This attidude is of course a non-starter!

If you want to stand a chance of being noticed in the very choosey industry, then you must throw your head in along with your heart and soul, and take on so much more than the music. There are some really good sites for bands to check out, but I have found one free downloadable book a really useful starting point.

Take a look at 10 KEY STEPS YOU MUST TAKE TO SUCCEED IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS – it’s a must read. It’s not exhaustive, but is a valuable aid in helping bands to understand the big picture. You can download it directly from HERE.

10 KEY STEPS YOU MUST TAKE TO SUCCEED IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS

This PDF courtesy of Make It In Music‘s Ian Clifford is a MUST READ for every aspiring band or artist. You can LIKE and FOLLOW them below

1. Have some Talent & learn How to Write a Great Song

This is the golden rule. Make no bones about it – without this you may as well pack it in now and go and do something much more sensible.

Two of the greatest pieces of advice I was ever given in this industry were about songs:

(i) All the greatest songs are either basically ‘I Love You’ or ‘I Hate You / Don’t Need You / Am Better Off Without You’ etc; and
(ii) There are very, very, very few great songs and most bands / acts / artists only have one, or a
handful, and that can sustain them for a career.

These are two pretty strong but simple, perhaps even obvious, statements but they need clarification and a pinch of salt for all their brilliance.

On the first point, if you look at your national music chart I guarantee that more than half the Top 40 or 20 or Hot 100 or whatever you have where you live, will be essentially conforming to that ‘I love you / I hate you’ paradigm. If you include general self-empowerment (such as Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’ or ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor), I’ll bet it’s more like two-thirds. Not all of them will have an obvious title containing ‘love’ or ‘hate’ words but the basic lyrical theme will be on that topic. In fact, although the direct approach can be very effective, in most cases a modern songsmith will have tried to work that sentiment into a simile or a story or the like. What this statement is really saying is that great songs are about human emotion – they describe it and they tap into that in the listener. So, look for old and new ways to write and sing about raw human emotion.

Of course, the exception proves the rule and there are some almightily huge smash-hit songs that do not fit that narrow set, but the majority do. Learn from that. Go and check out Billboard’s All-time top 100. Sobering reading if you don’t like writing songs about that most basic human emotion!

To read more on 10 KEY STEPS YOU MUST TAKE TO SUCCEED IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, you can download it directly from makeitinmusic.com. You will need to supply your email address, but it’s safe with them. You’ll only ever be sent other mega tips.